Seismologists suspect the island is a temporary formation resulting from a "mud volcano," a jet of mud, sand and water that gushed to the surface as the [earthquake] churned and pressurized that slurry under the ocean floor.

The official death toll from the quake is 328 (and rising), and many of the buildings in the impoverished area of the Baluchistan province have caved in.

Pakistani TV Geo News, citing Pakistan's deputy inspector general, reported that the 20-to-40-feet-high and 100-feet-wide island arose out of the Arabian Sea about 350 feet off the coast of Gwadar.